Omaha daily bee., 1887-05-07

preached by the musicians Of Scotland
with reference to the granting of de.
grces IN music. The matter has been
under consideration for some time, and
there Is, il is understood. some disposi.
tion TO accede to the general wish on the
part of three out of the four universi.
ties. One of the universities, though
possessed of an endowed musical chair,
has taken no active steps in the matter.
Another having found that it is empow.
cred to confer honorary degrees in
music has taken the initiative, and,
upon search being made, documents
showing precedents for admitting candi-
dates to examination have, it is said,
been discovered, and 1t is therefore not
unlikely that the wishes of the Scotch
musicians will soon be carried out.
~
Afghanistan.ls likely to disappear alto
gether from the map of Asia before lon q
What with England's scientific from
tier ideas on the south, and Russia's
still more decided absorption policy on
north, the ameer's territory is gradually
diminishing in area. A dispute on the
northern frontier has Just been settled on
the convenient compromise" of giving
Russia all she claimed and withdrawing
all the claims to pecuniary compensation
made by other contestants. Towards the
fall the process will be repeated. and
during the winter another treaty will be
forced down the amcer's throat.
.*x
The Sonnblick observatory, in the prov
ince of Salzburg Austria, is the highest
in Europe, being 10.177 feet above the
level of the sea. 1t was established
chiefly through the exertions of M.
Rojacher, proprietor of the mines in that
district, in conjunction with the German
and Austrian Alpine club and the Aus
tran Meteorological society. 1t remains
to be shown what use can be made of
the observations on such elevated sta
tons for the practical work of weather
forecasting. The observers of the Pic du
Midi claim to have foretold, from the
conditions at that observatory, the dis
astrous floods that occurred in the south
of France at the end of June, 1875, and
thereby to have rendered important serv-
ices by their timely warning.
*x~
Something very much like white
slavery is practicticed in Nova Scotia,
where pauper boys and girls are farmed
out 10 the highest bidder. The farmer
purchases the right to the child's labor
till it becomes of age, and then he can
sell his interest in the contract to any one
who will buy. At an auction sale at
Digbv recently boy was sold, ana so
outraged were the spectators that they
have petitioned the Dominion parliament
Mannlng's nice distinction between SELL
ing mans labor and selling the man
himself is evidently not appreciated in
Nova Scotia.
~
One of the most melancholy incidents
of the eastern manGuvres in England
was Il disastrous test of the sword bayo.
nets with which the volunteers are armed.
A dummy of cotton waste enclosed in a
truss of straw was fair substitute for
the human body, and not n bayonet pene-
trated it unharmed. A Crimean sword
passed through 1t easily, but every sword
UdyOuSS WIS UcilO uOuulo huu IWlSlcu Out
OF shape. The regular army is armed
with the same species of worthless bayo-
net. The volunteers are suitably equip
ped for the sham battles which they fight
once ayear
English women have done much to
rescue the queens jubilee celebration
from merited reproach for lack of public
interest. While other schemes for COM
memorating the Victorian reign are
languishing and expiring through sheer
nanition, the women are bestirring
themselves in every borough and shire,
and are confidently expecting to raise
$3.50 before the anniversary day.
This Is the only one of the countless
jubilee enterprises which excltes popular
enthusiasm.